Camping Adventures with Littles
Well we survived our first camping adventure with 3 littles. We have only gone camping one other time since we had kids and that was with Millie. Let's just say it was way more complicated this way!! I don't want to bore you with a chronological re-cap of our trip so I will just give you the highs and lows of our trip and provide lots of pictures. Enjoy!
Let's start with Lows, that way we can end on a high note.
Lows
1. We struggled to get all of our stuff in the car. I mean struggled!! It was packed to the very brim and I don't think even one more item would have fit in the car. But we did make it with all our stuff. We were a tad less packed (only a tad) due to not having to bring food home.
2. It was exhausting to carry Rowan the whole time. It was probably easier than it will be when he is more mobile (if we go again at the end of the summer, still up for discussion in our house). But he is a hefty 17.5 lbs and still a newborn which means he can't 'hold on' like a toddler at that weight could. I mostly kept him in the carrier, which was helpful and he LOVED IT, but it wore my body out by the end of the trip.
3. When Elise gets overtired she is grumpy, and since she didn't sleep well all weekend, she was a bit on the grumpy side all weekend. Which was unfortunate because it was her Birthday camping trip. But she talks about how she loved her trip. So I think she had fun even though it didn't appear that way all of the time.
4. Our tent was a tad on the small size for 5 humans (even though 3 were small). It is a 4 person tent and we squeezed in there without an inch to spare (much like our car packing). We did bring an extra tent, but ended up not even setting it up, because thankfully sleeping went pretty well (as well as expected) and Rowan didn't wake anyone up in the night (except his mama).
5. We forgot salt. A small thing, but eggs cooked on the camp stove are not as good without salt. We also forgot our dish washing tub and something else that is slipping my mind at the moment. But like I said before, not sure they would have fit if we wanted them!
6. The second night Elise took forever to fall asleep (and woke up pretty early). And we ended up all in the tent trying to fall asleep at the same time (big mistake with Elise because she doesn't do well sleeping with others) because we ran out of firewood and I wasn't about to sit in the dark for an hour while she tried to fall asleep. In hindsight maybe we should have sat in the car?
Highs
1. Somehow I managed to get more sleep the first night of camping than I have in weeks. Rowan slept soundly snuggled in my sleeping bag with me and we all slept in until 7am!
2. The girls did great around the fire and enjoyed roasting marshmallows, which is always my highlight as well.
3.Daniel took both girls out on a canoe ride. They explored the whole pond and had a great time. Rowie and I stayed on solid ground. I am sad I missed out on the trip but so glad they enjoyed it and no one ended up in the water.
4. I really enjoyed being in nature all weekend. It was great to unplug completely from my phone (there really wasn't even cell service at the park) and just spend time as a family, even if it was hard and busy and at times stressful.
5. The second night we grilled chicken (so yummy) and took a little picnic to see the concert in the park. It was a cute bluegrass band that played while mostly old people listened. Millie especially enjoyed it and seemed to really love listening to the music while she explored the area we were picnicking in.
6. On Saturday we knew the girls needed a nap, so we threw all the kids in the car and drove around for an hour and a half while they napped. Then we stopped at Rita's water ice for a birthday treat for Elise before heading back to the campground.
Overall it was successful. We will definitely go camping again soon and I look forward to it getting easier as we get more use to it. I have the fondest memories of camping regularly with my family as a kid and I look forward to making it a tradition with our little flock as well.
Let's start with Lows, that way we can end on a high note.
Lows
1. We struggled to get all of our stuff in the car. I mean struggled!! It was packed to the very brim and I don't think even one more item would have fit in the car. But we did make it with all our stuff. We were a tad less packed (only a tad) due to not having to bring food home.
2. It was exhausting to carry Rowan the whole time. It was probably easier than it will be when he is more mobile (if we go again at the end of the summer, still up for discussion in our house). But he is a hefty 17.5 lbs and still a newborn which means he can't 'hold on' like a toddler at that weight could. I mostly kept him in the carrier, which was helpful and he LOVED IT, but it wore my body out by the end of the trip.
3. When Elise gets overtired she is grumpy, and since she didn't sleep well all weekend, she was a bit on the grumpy side all weekend. Which was unfortunate because it was her Birthday camping trip. But she talks about how she loved her trip. So I think she had fun even though it didn't appear that way all of the time.
4. Our tent was a tad on the small size for 5 humans (even though 3 were small). It is a 4 person tent and we squeezed in there without an inch to spare (much like our car packing). We did bring an extra tent, but ended up not even setting it up, because thankfully sleeping went pretty well (as well as expected) and Rowan didn't wake anyone up in the night (except his mama).
5. We forgot salt. A small thing, but eggs cooked on the camp stove are not as good without salt. We also forgot our dish washing tub and something else that is slipping my mind at the moment. But like I said before, not sure they would have fit if we wanted them!
6. The second night Elise took forever to fall asleep (and woke up pretty early). And we ended up all in the tent trying to fall asleep at the same time (big mistake with Elise because she doesn't do well sleeping with others) because we ran out of firewood and I wasn't about to sit in the dark for an hour while she tried to fall asleep. In hindsight maybe we should have sat in the car?
Highs
1. Somehow I managed to get more sleep the first night of camping than I have in weeks. Rowan slept soundly snuggled in my sleeping bag with me and we all slept in until 7am!
2. The girls did great around the fire and enjoyed roasting marshmallows, which is always my highlight as well.
3.Daniel took both girls out on a canoe ride. They explored the whole pond and had a great time. Rowie and I stayed on solid ground. I am sad I missed out on the trip but so glad they enjoyed it and no one ended up in the water.
4. I really enjoyed being in nature all weekend. It was great to unplug completely from my phone (there really wasn't even cell service at the park) and just spend time as a family, even if it was hard and busy and at times stressful.
5. The second night we grilled chicken (so yummy) and took a little picnic to see the concert in the park. It was a cute bluegrass band that played while mostly old people listened. Millie especially enjoyed it and seemed to really love listening to the music while she explored the area we were picnicking in.
6. On Saturday we knew the girls needed a nap, so we threw all the kids in the car and drove around for an hour and a half while they napped. Then we stopped at Rita's water ice for a birthday treat for Elise before heading back to the campground.
Overall it was successful. We will definitely go camping again soon and I look forward to it getting easier as we get more use to it. I have the fondest memories of camping regularly with my family as a kid and I look forward to making it a tradition with our little flock as well.
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